


quarterly review

by Glitter_Lisp



Series: reboot [3]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Afterlife, Angst, Background Harry Hook/Uma (Disney), Gen, Grim Reaper Harry Hook, Grim Reaper Mal (Disney), Hurt/Comfort, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-27 07:51:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20944892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitter_Lisp/pseuds/Glitter_Lisp
Summary: Mal shook her head. “We all have people we miss, Harry. All of us. But it's not fair to you or them to come back when you can't stay.”“It's not fair anyways,” Harry snarled. “It's not fair! None of this is fair, what happened to me isn'tfair!I–” His voice broke. “Mal, Idied.”-----Two months into his vacation, Harry gets an unexpected visit from his boss.





	quarterly review

**Author's Note:**

> (This will make absolutely no sense if you haven't read "reuse, recycle, resurrect," but if you're just in the mood to read about Harry crying then hey, you've come to the right place!)
> 
> This is... I think where this is going. I mean, I know where this is going, but somehow writing the Huma bits was turning out to be impossible. We'll get back around to them eventually. For now, have some Harry + Mal bonding.

He knew Mal was there before he even opened the door. He hesitated for the briefest moment, hand hovering over the doorknob, then sighed and let himself in. 

“Hi, Harry.”

She was sitting on Uma’s sofa like she owned it, feet propped up on the coffee table and ankles crossed while she scrolled through her phone and didn't bother to look at him. He closed the door behind him and leaned back against it. 

“Hi, Mal.”

“Ben says coochie coochie coo,” 

“Tell him I said coochie coo back,” Harry said, then swallowed hard. “I… um. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”

“Trouble?” Mal finally looked up at him, arching one eyebrow. “Why would you be in trouble? Do you think you did something wrong?”

Harry groaned. “Mal, for the love of– please just tell me what I did and what you want.”

“You know exactly what you did,” Mal said shortly. “You're not supposed to go where people might recognize you. And what did you do instead?” She set her phone down so she could tick off on her fingers as she said, “You went back to your hometown. You ran into your childhood sweetheart. You didn't disappear immediately. You stopped to _ talk _ to her. You tried to turn down an assignment when you were barely twenty feet away.” She switched to her other hand. “You went home with her. You explained everything her. You had a nice little drink with her. You _ lost your fucking mind _ and slept with her. You moved into her house. You–” Mal paused. “Oh, look at that. I ran out of fingers.”

Harry closed his eyes. “Look, I know I–”

“I don't think you _ do,” _ Mal said sharply. “These rules are not arbitrary. We didn't pick them at random, or to be cruel. They're here to protect you, _ both _of you.”

Harry gritted his teeth and dropped his head back against the door with a quiet thump. “I didn't mean to.”

“Didn't mean to run into her, yeah,” Mal allowed. “But did you mean to follow her home? How about the soda? Your first root beer in a decade, that was cute. Or what about climbing over the damn bar to make out with her? Did you mean to do that?”

Harry's eyes were stinging with tears. “I'm _ sorry.” _

“Harry.”

Mal's voice had gone unexpectedly soft. Harry took a deep, shuddering breath and slowly opened his eyes to look at her. She was standing now, only a few feet away, and he wasn't sure if he just hadn't heard her get up or if she had hopped over. She looked sad. 

“It's hard,” she said quietly. “Your first time back. It's hard for everyone. But you can't do this. You're going to die again in two months. Are you willing to do that to her again? Is she?” Harry gulped down a sob, and Mal softened. “I won't stop you if you want to stay. But I want you to understand what it means, and what you're going to put her through. She's going to grieve you again, and she'll be the only one doing it. She is going to lose you, again, and there's nothing either of you can do to stop that happening.”

“I missed her,” Harry blurted out, fingers digging into the wood behind him. “I– I didn't know how much I missed her until I saw her again.”

Mal shook her head. “We all have people we miss, Harry. All of us. But it's not fair to you or them to come back when you can't stay.”

“It's not fair anyways,” Harry snarled. “It's not fair! None of this is fair, what happened to me isn't _fair!_ I–” His voice broke. “Mal, I _ died.” _

“Oh, Harry.” Mal stepped forward and opened her arms. “Come here.”

He had close to a foot on her, but he tucked himself down so he could hide his face in her shoulder as he began to cry so hard he felt like he might shake apart. Mal kept her arms around him, humming softly and stroking a hand up and down his back.

“I know,” she murmured. “I know, you feel it more when you're here. I know.”

“I was eighteen,” Harry choked out. “I was a _ kid. _ I had my whole life left. He had no right to take that from me.”

“No,” Mal said softly, “he didn't.”

“I was supposed to love her. I was supposed to love her forever and I didn't get to.”

Mal pressed a soft kiss to his temple. “I know,” she murmured. “I know, I know.”

He sobbed helplessly. “I miss her. This was supposed to be mine, I'm _ supposed _to be here, why don't I get to be here?”

Mal murmured and hummed as she led him over to the sofa, sitting down on it and tugging him with her until he was curled up half on top of her, still shaking as he cried. 

“Why does it hurt?” he gasped. “It's never hurt before, why does it hurt so much?”

“Vacation has its ups and downs,” Mal admitted, and Harry jolted at how thick her voice sounded. When he looked up, her eyes were wet. She was crying, too. “You get to be alive. And you get all the good things and the bad things that come with it. Pain, pleasure, food, hunger. Emotions.” 

“I have _ emotions.” _

“Not like this,” Mal said gently. “You think you could do our job if you felt this deeply all the time? There's a certain… separation. We feel, sure. But not like this. Not like we're alive.”

“I wish I was,” Harry said. “Alive. Or dead. Not… this.”

“Yeah.” Mal pulled him tighter. “I told you. The rules are there to protect you, too. I don't want either of you to get hurt. But I _ especially _don't want you to. You’re one of ours.”

“I love her,” Harry whispered. “Still. I don't know that I ever stopped.”

“Harry,” Mal began, but Harry cut her off, looking down and shaking his head.

“Not just, not her from before. I love her now. I love how much she cares about the bar. I love how half the people in town are scared of her, and the other half would kill for her.” Harry sniffled and then laughed. “She sleeps on her left side now, did you know that? Always slept on her stomach before, spread out like a damn starfish. She’s learned how to whistle, finally. And she… she’s tough. She was before, toughest girl I ever met, but now…” He shrugged. “She’s grown up. She’s changed. And I love her.”

Mal was quiet for long enough that Harry looked back up at her, wiping self-consciously at his cheeks as he did. “Mal?”

She was frowning, staring into the distance. Her lips moved silently for a moment, then she sighed and gently pushed him away. “I gotta go.”

Harry sat up and nodded, still sniffling and trying to scrub away the tacky dried tears on his face. “Oh. Yeah. Thanks for, um, for stopping by.”

Mal nodded absently. “Yeah, yeah, of course. Always. Hey, don’t- ugh. I know I just kind of told you to cut and run, but, uh… don’t make any decisions just yet. I need to talk some things over with the other three.”

Harry frowned. “Talk over what?”

“Some things,” Mal repeated, standing and stretching. “Take care of yourself. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

She took a step forward and disappeared into the air, and Harry was left suddenly, achingly alone.


End file.
